DOWNTOWN — You could say Santa Monica had a little bit of everything in 2010. From the bizarre — like the revelation back in March that celebrated local sushi restaurant The Hump was illegally selling whale meat — to the heartwarming — like the successful grassroots effort to save the financially challenged Twilight... Read more →

CITYWIDE — When it comes to drinking and driving, the Santa Monica Police Department has a “zero tolerance” policy. Officers will be conducting a “Zero Tolerance DUI Saturation Patrol” New Year’s Eve at various locations throughout the city, targeting those who still don’t heed the message to... Read more →

AIRPORT COURTHOUSE — A homeless man living on the streets of Santa Monica was arraigned Tuesday after police accused him of slashing another man’s cheek in front of the McDonald’s on Second Street. Clarence Anthony Williams, 38, plead not guilty to one count of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of mayhem, a clerk... Read more →

The Santa Monica Convention & Visitors Bureau is looking for a few good men and women to help welcome University of Wisconsin fans for a Rose Bowl pep rally Thursday at the Santa Monica Pier. The Badgers have chosen Santa Monica as the location for their official pep rally. The CVB expects over 25,000 fans to attend. Volunteers will... Read more →

DOWNTOWN — Santa Monica College student Michael Maylahn shot for Mars and reached the stars. Maylahn recently led a team of community college engineering students from throughout the nation in a competition to create a prototype Mars rover at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. His team won first prize,... Read more →

LOS ANGELES — California braced Wednesday for a blast of cold air and potentially damaging winds in the aftermath of a winter storm that dumped more rain and snow on the soggy state but failed to trigger significant new mudflows. One person was killed by a falling tree and a snowboarder was missing, power outages were scattered around... Read more →

CITY HALL — Santa Monica officials have launched a “youth violence prevention” portal on City Hall’s website, part of an effort to better inform the public about programs geared toward at-risk minors in Santa Monica. The website, which City Hall announced on Tuesday, is accessible at www.santamonicayouth.net.... Read more →

LOS ANGELES — A new storm was making its way toward California from the Pacific Northwest on Monday as parts of the state cleaned up damage left by last week’s drenching rains. Temperatures, which had been well below seasonal norms, were up slightly across the sun-splashed Los Angeles area and in San Diego County and showers had... Read more →

For the 14th year in a row, the Automobile Club of Southern California will offer free towing on New Year’s Eve in an attempt to keep drunken drivers off the road. The Tipsy Tow program will be available to intoxicated drivers from 6 p.m. Friday until 6 a.m. Saturday in the 13 counties served by the Auto Club. Motorists, bartenders,... Read more →

CITY YARDS — Santa Monica officials have scrapped a two-year effort to design a new trash and recycling center, citing higher than expected estimates to build the facility. The canceled project, which would have replaced the open-air Resource Recovery Center on City Hall-owned land at Cloverfield Boulevard and Michigan Avenue with an... Read more →

PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITY — A traffic investigator with the Santa Monica Police Department said Monday it could take at least four weeks to determine if charges whould be filed against a driver who killed a 66-year-old man last week as he was crossing Wilshire Boulevard. Santa Monica Police Department Traffic Investigator Chris... Read more →

Organizers of the Santa Monica Pub Crawl said Monday that participants raised nearly 6,000 pounds of food and over $3,000 for the Westside Food Bank, enough for 20,000 meals. This photo captures some of the action from the pub crawl, which took place Dec.... Read more →

A total of 102 people were arrested on suspicion of drunken driving in Los Angeles County over the Christmas weekend, a significant decrease from last year when the holiday was celebrated over a four-day weekend, the California Highway Patrol announced Monday. Between 6:01 p.m. Thursday and 11:59 p.m. Sunday, 102 people were picked up for... Read more →

With a handful of reports of celebratory gunfire around the city in the first few minutes of Christmas Day, Los Angeles police and sheriff’s deputies Monday warned people about shooting into the air to ring in the new year. Sheriff Lee Baca and LAPD Assistant Chief Jo MacArthur held a 10 a.m. news conference at Los Angeles police... Read more →

Dear EarthTalk: What’s up with dishwasher detergents of late? They’re clearly not working as well. I hope whatever was done is helping the environment because it’s not helping my dishes. — Sally P., Everett, Wash. What happened was that in July 2010 a significant reduction in the amount of phosphates... Read more →